Rehearing Denied in Aereo Case; Chin Dissents Because “Cablevision was wrongly decided”

Today’s denial by the Second Circuit of broadcasters’ petition for an en banc rehearing of Aereo, means, absent Supreme Court intervention, that Aereo’s April 1 win stands.  Judge Chin wrote a thirty-page dissent from the denial.  One of Chin’s arguments, called to our attention by Public Knowledge, was:

Aereo’s reliance on Cablevision is misplaced because, in my view, Cablevision was wrongly decided.

Judge Chin later wrote, “[o]f course, I was the district judge in Cablevision,” and the fact that he may still be frustrated about being reversed by his now-colleagues may be a factor in his decision to dissent today.

CCIA filed a brief in support of Cablevision, and filed briefs in support of Aereo in the District Court and Second Circuit, plus DisCo has written about Aereo many times, so it’s clear where we stand on these legal issues.  It’s also interesting to see Judge Chin so emphatically reiterate where his allegiance lies, which is against established precedent in his Circuit.